Pupils ready for The Read 2017

At the start of the spring term, the library launched ‘The Read 2017’ following the success of last year’s inaugural competition.

‘The Read 2017’ is a reading initiative for lower school pupils organised by librarians from several secondary schools in Stockport and is divided into two categories: ‘The Big 5’ and ‘Quick Reads’.

Stockport Grammar School is taking part in ‘The Big 5’ category and pupils who sign up are challenged to read the five shortlisted novels and vote for their favourite. The overall winner, selected by readers from all of the participating schools, will be announced at an awards ceremony at Bramhall High School on Wednesday 29th March, hosted by the author M.G. Harris.

So far 70 first year pupils have signed up for the initiative and the books are also being read by book club members and second year pupils.

The five shortlisted books are:

‘Jessica’s Ghost’ by Andrew Norriss

‘Joe All Alone’ by Joanna Nadin

‘Maladapted’ by Richard Kurti

‘The Door That Led to Where’ by Sally Gardner

‘The Wolf Wilder’ by Katherine Rundell

Speaking at the launch of the initiative, librarian Josephine Pazos said: “The shortlist aims to appeal to a range of tastes as readers immerse themselves in animal adventures, fraught friendships, historical mysteries and futuristic thrillers. The diverse nature of the shortlist also aims to encourage pupils to try something new and discover that they enjoy books beyond their normal reading zone.

“The shortlisted authors are thrilled to have been selected and are poised to answer pupils’ questions about the books and encourage their reading.”

The winner of last year’s ‘The Big 5’ award was Kim Slater for her book ‘Smart’.